1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a PC card, and particularly, to a PC card having a fingerprint identifying function.
2. Description of the Related Art
Information available in electronic forms and open communication networks of these days enable anyone who has an information terminal such as a personal computer (PC) to access the information. It is important to strictly manage confidential corporate and private information.
Presently, passwords are widely used to identify persons accessing information terminals. The passwords, however, are imperfect because they are easy to steal.
To improve safety, a technique of using biometric characteristics and, in particular, fingerprints of persons who access information terminals is drawing attention.
Conventional fingerprint identifying devices are large, and therefore, cannot be carried with portable equipment such as notebook PCs.
The notebook PCs generally have slots for PC cards that provide various functions.
For example, a fax card can be inserted into a slot of a notebook PC to transfer documents from the PC by facsimile.
An object of the present invention is to provide a fingerprint identifying PC card to be inserted into a card slot of a notebook PC.
In order to accomplish the object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a fingerprint identifying PC card to be removably inserted into a card slot of a portable information apparatus, consisting of a card unit and a scan unit incorporating a scanner used for identifying a fingerprint.
The first aspect provides the scan unit on the card unit so that the PC card is easy to carry and easy to insert into a portable PC.
A second aspect of the present invention provides, further, a supporting part for supporting the scan unit to reduce the force transferred to the card unit when a finger is set on the scan unit.
The supporting part of the second aspect accepts a force applied to the scan unit by a finger, thereby preventing the force from directly affecting the card unit.
A third aspect of the present invention provides a finger sensor. The finger sensor is arranged at a finger inserting part of the scan unit in front of the scanner, for detecting the presence of a finger on the scan unit.
The finger sensor of the third aspect determines whether or not a finger is correctly placed on the scan unit.
A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a connector for connecting the card unit with the scan unit so that the finger sensor always comes to the side in front of the scanner whether the card unit is inserted into the left or right side of the information apparatus.
The fourth aspect connects the card unit with the scan unit so that the finger sensor always comes to the front of the scanner irrespective of the position of the card slot of the information apparatus.